Convict on the run robs Ladyville store

An intensive manhunt is underway tonight as officials search for an escaped convict on the run. Details of how the prisoner managed to escape the confines of his cell in the maximum-security section of the facility are being withheld. But News 5 understands that sometime during bed check at approximately 9:30 on Saturday night and 8:00 on Sunday morning, inmate Mervin “Ranger” Reyes checked out of the prison. Officials found a mummy made from sheets and clothing wrapped to look like a person was in Reyes’ bed. A former member of the B.D.F., it is now suspected Reyes used his army skills to pick the lock on the cell door using makeshift utensils and then to manoeuvre his way off the compound unnoticed. Since his escape, Reyes has armed himself with a shotgun and he is believed to be the man responsible for a robbery on the Northern Highway. Tonight we understand that no formal report has been filed by the owners of the El Cas Supermarket and as such, we are unable to confirm what was taken from the store. Based on eyewitness reports, authorities believe Reyes may be in the city or hiding out in the Belize District. If you know the whereabouts of Mervin “Ranger” Reyes, you are asked to call the nearest police station as he is considered armed and dangerous. Reyes was remanded to Hattieville prison in March of this year on robbery and theft charges.